Mutual understanding
by Tayani
Summary: Shizuo didn't know why he hated the flea. He didn't know why he saved him, either. But the outcome of him doing so might be quite different from what both of them ever imagined... Mild M, prompted, oneshot, highschool!Shizaya. Enjoy!


**A/N: **First of the 10 tumblr-prompted oneshots. This one is for durararaking who asked for highschool, M-rated Shizaya. I hope you like it! Also thank you to asbestosxposure for keeping me company, battling my long sentences and generally putting up with me ;)

It's M, but mild. Ye have been warned

**Disclaimer: **Neither the characters, nor the setting of this story is mine.

Enjoy!

* * *

><p><strong>Mutual understanding<strong>

Shizuo didn't know why he hated the flea.

The clapping was unpleasant to his ears; an obnoxious sound amidst the silent now court, trashed with immobile bodies of idiots who were stupid enough to pick a fight with him. Shizuo was the only one left standing. He was breathing heavily, his blond hair disheveled, brows knit in a still-enraged frown. He glared in the direction of the clapping. Seeing Shinra there wasn't a surprise; the other guy, the clapping guy, he did not know.

The fact completely unimportant to the blond at the moment; he didn't need to know him to hate him; and he did so, with all the rage the beast wasn't able to let out yet.

Everything; everything, from the boy's scrawny silhouette to his smartass smirk made Shizuo's blood boil, made the beast wake up again, hungry for more violence. _Orihara Izaya_, Shinra said. All that the blond did to answer was to speak his mind, trying to control himself.

"I don't like you."

Shizuo didn't understand why both Shinra and Izaya looked surprised at that. For him, hating the flea was like second nature; it was how things were. But these two looked like the blond was the first person not to like Izaya from the start - possibly, he was. Shizuo heard this name before enough times to guess the raven was quite popular.

Izaya mocked, and the beast finally took control over him, lunging forward, thirsty for the raven's blood. Shizuo threw a punch that would have probably killed the scrawny teen; but Izaya dodged, faster than the blond could register. A turn, a flick of the raven's knife, mild pain from his chest; this guy was good…

Izaya started to run, and Shizuo followed; it was the basic instinct, the rush of the chase. A neverending one, in which both of them felt like the predator, and neither of them thought of himself as of prey. They run out of Raijin's grounds, and then back, skipping through the corridors, throwing and dodging whatever came in handy. Loud shouts of Izaya's name filled the school, along with delighted mockery directed at the blond beast; it looked as if they'd never stop running, until finally, Izaya made one wrong decision.

He somehow ended up on a roof.

The raven's smirk only widened, but he cursed inwardly. Wrong stairs. He wasn't careful enough, wasn't looking where he was going. Now they were here, just the two of them on the roof… And Shizuo was blocking the only escape route. Izaya pulled out his flickblade. He'll just have to coax the beast into moving aside, so he could run away again. Or push him off the roof, just as well. Whatever.

"Now, now, Shizu-chan~ Are you tired yet? Not so easy to catch me, is it~?" he mocked in a sing-song voice, taking a step back, and then another one. Shizuo came closer. Just like that, you protozoan, come this way… And leave the door open for me.

"Looks like I just did, flea." the blond spat, growling in anger.

"My, just like a beast~"

"Shut up!"

"Why are you stopping now, Shizu-chan? You were screaming so loudly about killing me… What is it, could it be that monsters don't know what to do when their prey stops running? Interesting~"

"Shut up! Don't call me that!"

Shizuo stepped even closer, before starting to run again, charging at the raven. Izaya dodged the punch with a laugh; a short one, unfortunately. Because at this moment, few things has happened at once.

Firstly, Izaya didn't jump into the air and back, as he planned, landing on solid concrete behind him. In his mocking, he took a few steps too far; and his back collided rather harshly with metal net that encircled all of the open-for-students roof area, exactly as a protection from fall. Secondly, Shizuo's powerful punch that just missed his body landed on one of the poles supporting the net; and broke it down.

Surprise, dread, confusion; these were all the emotion that flashed through Izaya's face in a blink of an eye, as the raven balanced helplessly on the torn net, inches from falling. However, he quickly pulled on a mask; a grinning one, victorious one.

"Monster…" he whispered, looking Shizuo in the eyes before closing his own and leaning back. The creaking of the metal net was terrible to ears, but soon it stopped when the metal finally gave out, and the net, along with Izaya's body, started to fall.

Except, Izaya stopped midair. There was a sharp tug on his wrist, a searing pain in his arm, and the raven opened his eyes to look in confusion into the honey ones belonging to a certain blond.

"Shizu-chan?"

Shizuo was sweating. He could feel it. What the hell did he go and save the flea for? But he couldn't help it. The sight of Izaya disappearing, his words, it all made the anger subside; and other instincts kicked in, making the blond act almost against his will. And now…

Izaya's crimson eyes looked, still quite in shock, beyond the blond's arm and his face. Shizuo was in the air, too… The only reason they weren't falling was because he grabbed the rest of the metal net with his other hand. For now, it held; but it won't for long, the loud creaking was an obvious sign. Izaya gulped. So he was going to die either way.

"Shizu-chan, the net is tearing."

"Shut up."

"Shizu-chan, I very much appreciate the gesture of you trying to yank my arm off before I die, but this is simply prolonging the-"

"I said shut up! You want to die so much!?"

Izaya blinked. The net creaked more. Was the blond honestly so stupid not to realise what kind of situation they were in?

"Shizu-chan."

"..."

"Shizuo."

"What?!"

"It won't support us both. You're going to let me go sooner or later, so do it already."

There was a second of silence, during which certain emotions run through Shizuo's face. If his arm wasn't hurting so fucking badly, Izaya would find it even amusing. The face of a man who's going to - in a way - commit murder. How ridiculous. There was hesitancy here… And something like fear? My, Shizuo never ceased to surprise him…

The net creaked for the last time, and started to tear. Shizuo clenched his teeth in resolve.

"Who do you think you are… to tell me what to do."

Izaya screamed when his arm was yanked even more, his shoulder probably dislocating by now. But what shocked him was why this happened at all; suddenly, the raven was flying in the air, in the opposite direction to the falling net… With Shizuo still holding on to it. Izaya turned midair, eyes wide open in surprise. This couldn't be…

Time seemed to stop. They were both flying; Izaya upwards, on his way to land on the solid concrete of the roof; and Shizuo down, with his eyes locked on the raven… and a serene, soft smile on his face. Izaya saw it only for a second; and then, he landed on a roof on which Shizuo tossed him, with a sickening crack in his arm that indicated a broken bone; and the blond disappeared from his sight.

…

"Hold still, Kasuka…"

It's been a week. Both of them; Shizuo and Izaya; ended up transferred to the nearest hospital. The official version was that Izaya tripped while they were on the roof, and Shizuo pulled him back, but stumbled himself. It was almost truth. Almost.

Izaya's body wasn't strong. He didn't heal fast, like Shizuo did. He also wouldn't have been able to survive such a fall, like Shizuo did. But his injuries - dislocated shoulder and broken arm, along with a few scrapes and bruises; were nothing compared to the blond's.

"That's right, Shizuo. And bend."

Kasuka, Shizuo's younger brother, and a young man who was responsible for the blond's rehabilitation stood by his bed. Kasuka held Shizuo's leg firmly, supporting it as his brother did his best to move it. Again. And again. Stretch and bend, and once more. So that the muscles won't die, so maybe one day… he could walk again.

Shizuo was both lucky and unlucky in his accident. He was lucky to survive such a drop on concrete. But he paid for it with broken wrists, few broken or damaged ribs, and worse of all… His legs became paralysed. Doctors called it paraparesis, and said he'll manage to overcome it with exercise and rehabilitation. Shizuo and Kasuka didn't say anything. Izaya was terrified.

They were in the same hospital, but the raven didn't visit him, not once. At least Shizuo weren't supposed to know Izaya visited. Even now the raven, with his crimson eyes fixated on the practicing blond, stood just outside of Shizuo's view, watching him. Izaya honestly didn't know what he was doing here. As if he wanted to see with his own eyes, over and over again, the state he caused Shizuo to be in; as if he hoped, just once, to see him rise his leg on his own, to see him walk and run like he used to, to stop feeling that annoying pang of guilt deep in his heart.

"Alright, that's it for today." the physiotherapist straightened, stretching. Shizuo bit his lip, looking at him, and back at Kasuka, who was, as always, poker-faced.

"I can go on a bit longer…"

"No need to strain, Heiwajima-kun." the physiotherapist gave him a warm smile. "Besides, it's almost time for your brother to go, even considering he helps you with rehabilitation. Come on, Kasuka-kun."

Izaya managed to hide in the corner when the two were leaving, so that Shizuo's younger brother won't spot him. He did once already, and Izaya did not want to see these emotionless, and yet so accusing eyes stare at him again. Ever.

The physiotherapist was right, though. It was getting late; sun setting, and all. But Izaya didn't want to leave yet, even considering the fact that for any doctor, he was just a visitor. A broken arm did not require a week-long hospitalization.

He came closer to the glass, through which he could see Shizuo, and not be seen himself. The blond seemed to be simply laying there. But Izaya stayed, Izaya watched; and he was good at observing humans.

It started simply, with Shizuo raising his arms. His hands and wrists were in caskets, bones still healing. He raised them, and let them fall limply back on the bed, as if trying to see if he can still move them. Then he tried to sit up. Izaya had to be amazed at the sheer power of Shizuo's muscles, as, with a lot of strain, he managed to bring his upper body into a sitting position, enduring few seconds before falling down, breathing heavily. Ribs must have still hurt him, it seemed.

And then legs.

Was it anyone except Izaya, he would not notice Shizuo was trying to move at all. His hips wiggled softly, but that was it. Yet Izaya saw the blond's clenched teeth, and beads of sweat building up on his brow. Unknown to himself, his own fists clenched. _Come on, Shizu-chan._

"Fuck!"

The blond let his head fall back, his figure finally stilling. Izaya let out a breath he did not know he was holding. Something hurt in his chest. Just looking at Shizuo hurt.

"Can I help you with anything, darling?"

The voice was so unexpected it made Izaya jump a little. Behind him stood a young nurse, and not a very experienced one at first glance. Yet the fact she managed to surprise him both embarrassed Izaya and made him mad at himself for focusing on the blond so much.

"Do you want me to take you to your room, love? Are you lost?" the woman kept smiling. Izaya blinked. His room? Oh, right, his arm was still in a casket.. He must have looked like a patient to her.

"Um…" Izaya gave the nurse his best, charming smile. "Actually, I wanted to visit my friend before I go to my room… Can I do that? He had visitors earlier, and I didn't want to interrupt…"

Visiting Shizuo was at least better than being thrown out of the hospital. And the nurse visibly melted at Izaya's words.

"Well… It is a bit late… But let's say I'll just turn the other way while I'll be walking down the corridor to check if you boys are all in your rooms, alright?" she winked at him. Izaya had to stop himself from rolling his eyes. "Just don't stay up for too long. You both have to heal."

"Yes ma'am." Izaya forced another smile and, with the nurse's eyes on his back, he moved to the door to Shizuo's room.

He opened them quietly and went inside. At first, the raven thought Shizuo fell asleep already; but the blond's head turned when the door closed, and his honey eyes fell on his face.

"...what are you doing here?"

Not angry. This was possibly the first time Izaya heard Shizuo's voice that was neither angry, nor annoyed. It was… surprised. With just a hint of 'fed up'. Interesting.

"Hello, Shizu-chan."

Izaya neared the bed, wanting to have a better look at Shizuo, and let him have a better view of himself. The blond remained still.

"Are you here to mock me? I can't run and chase you now, you know."

"I'm not here to mock you."

"Then why _are _you here, flea?"

The raven was silent. Like he knew it himself. Shizuo sighed, facing the other way. Izaya sat down beside his bed, almost hesitantly reaching his hand to touch the blond's arm.

_I'm sorry._

"You should have let me go."

Shizuo turned back to stare at the raven. Of all things he could say… But Izaya wasn't done yet.

_Why did you save me? Why did you bother?_

"Now look at you. Pathetic. Even though you kept screaming 'I'll kill you, I'll kill you'... In the end, Shizu-chan's just too soft, hm? And you could have been healthy~ And I could have been dead, just like you wanted me to be~"

Izaya's grin grew with every word he spoke. Shizuo just remained silent, staring at him. When the raven was finished, with a manic laugh ending the whole speech, the blond sighed softly.

"...do you feel better now?"

Izaya stilled. These golden eyes continued to pierce him, before looking away.

"It was my goddamn choice, flea. Don't feel guilty for something you didn't do… That's just pathetic."

"Oh~? Do I feel guilty for Shizu-chan's sake?"

"Then why do you keep coming here every day?"

The raven blinked. How did he…

"...you stink, you know."

Izaya fell silent, half amazed and half offended, and very much simply at a loss how to react. Shizuo didn't say anything besides that himself, and they just continued to sit in an awkward silence for a few minutes. Finally, Izaya scowled and stood up, rolling up his sleeves and pulling Shizuo's covers off of his legs. The blond stared.

"What… are you doing?"

"..." Izaya had an annoyed, but determined look on his face. "You wanted to exercise longer… right?"

…

From this day on, Izaya's visits became regular. He would come in late; after Kasuka and other visitors (there weren't many of them) left, he would sneak into the room quietly. His 'Hello, Shizu-chan' became a ritual for both of them; and although neither would admit it, they both enjoyed these visits.

At first it was awkward. Izaya's hands touching his legs - Shizuo couldn't move them, but he didn't exactly lose the sense of touch - felt simply weird. For the raven, the blond's limbs were heavy, and he didn't know how to properly support them so that he'd help him exercise. But time went by, and they both learnt to tolerate each other's touch, and how to move for it to work.

After a week of them exercising together, there was the first break-through. Izaya was holding Shizuo's leg by his thigh, supporting his knee, when the blond told him to partially let go. And then he managed to rise his leg by himself. For a few seconds, he held it up, before letting it fall down on the bed. Both of them were happy that day; Shizuo, obviously, with a grin on his face and a new hope in his eyes where there was none; and Izaya secretly, smiling a little smile.

At least until the raven's eyes went a bit up and, possibly for the first time in his recent life, Izaya blushed.

"Shizu-chan, I know you're happy, but there are some limits."

Shizuo blinked at him for a while, before looking down as well and blushing scarlet, trying (unsuccessfully) to pull the covers back over himself.

"Shut up!"

Izaya went past his initial embarrassment and smirked, always up for some teasing.

"Aw, Shizu-chan~ Do you like me touching your legs so much~?" he snickered, sitting on his chair beside the bed. The blond only huffed, looking away.

"I said shut up, okay?" he sighed, moving his hips uncomfortably to at least try and hide the obvious bulge. "...my wrists are broken." he mumbled, blushing even redder.

Izaya blinked. And then he understood. Two weeks, huh… And with hormones buzzing all over his body, in the end, this was no surprise. Plus, Izaya did hold him… lower than usual this time. At least he thought so.

"Okay, okay, I get it. No need to turn into a lobster." he still teased, leaning a bit closer to Shizuo, mischievous glint in his eyes. "It's kind of natural." Izaya snickered. "Flattering, even. Should I give you a hand?"

Oh, the face Shizuo pulled. It was priceless. Izaya actually cursed himself for not having a camera ready, as he tilted back on his chair, laughing so hard he had to cover his mouth with his hand to block the sound, thus preventing anyone from hearing them. The blond growled.

"I'm so going to kill you the moment my hands heal."

Izaya rolled his eyes. "Come on, Shizu-chan. We both know you can't kill me." he snickered more, looking over the blond's body. Actually… Maybe it wasn't such a bad idea.

"...and I was serious. In the end…" he stood up from his chair, sitting on the side of the bed instead. "It is my fault you can't really take care of that yourself, isn't it?"

Shizuo's eyes widened again, and the blond gulped when he saw Izaya lean in, their faces nearing.

"Izaya. It's not funny."

"I'm not laughing."

"Don't-" and then, Shizuo was silenced, with Izaya's lips pressing softly against his own. The fact that he didn't move his lips at first, still in shock, disappointed the raven a bit. The fact that Shizuo started to clumsily kiss back after a while… delighted him.

They were slow. Izaya didn't do anything beside gently pressing their lips together; then moving them slightly, softly, cupping Shizuo's cheek in his hand, caressing him. It was still a chaste kiss, a sweet one. The raven pulled away for a second, staring into Shizuo's honey eyes. He liked it. A lot.

"Why-"

"Does it matter?"

And he kissed him again. It continued for some time like this; a kiss, a break for breath, another kiss. With each one, Shizuo stopped trying to voice his objections. With each one, Izaya deepened the kiss slightly, until finally both of their lips parted, their tongues meeting briefly for the first time. The blond gasped at that; Izaya loved it.

The raven slowly climbed on the bed, hovering over Shizuo, careful not to support himself on his body. The blond reacted with another gasp, which made Izaya snicker. Good. He liked these gasps, and he was going to get more of them tonight.

First moved his hands, and they were gentle; passing Shizuo's clothed body in a simple caress on his skin. They weren't lovers; Izaya was aware of the fact, and that he only said he would _help_, not make love to him. Even the kisses were unnecessary; on the other hand, Shizuo would never shut up without them.

His hand didn't hesitate when it reached the hem of the blond's pants, slipping inside. Gods, Shizuo was hard, and hot, and let out such a delicious moan when Izaya's thin fingers circled expertly around his erection. It wasn't first handjob the raven gave. Izaya heard of chastity, and found few uses for it in his life.

It was a pity they had to be quiet.

The raven would love to move his lips to Shizuo's neck, teasing him even more, making all of his body heat up. Yet, as things were, he stuck to silencing the sounds the blond was making with kisses, which turned sloppier and messier by a second. Izaya shuddered when Shizuo caught his bottom lip between his teeth, nibbling at it gently. Was the blond a fast learner…

The moves of his hand became faster, less elaborate, and Izaya had to work very hard for Shizuo to remain quiet. He felt the blond won't last long; it was obvious, if not from all the data he gathered before, then from how his body was trembling under Izaya's every touch, and how he tried to buck his hips into his hand, probably cursing his immobile lower parts. The raven grinned. This was fun.

"Come, Shizu-chan." he whispered, licking his way to Shizuo's ear while his other hand covered the blond's lips, muffling his moans. The raven caught Shizuo's earlobe between his teeth, nibbling at it gently. "Come for me…"

It took just one more stroke after that, to have Shizuo arching his back and trembling in his release. Izaya straightened up, looking with amusement at the blond's huffing figure, and then down, at his own hand, rolling his eyes. "Now I have to clean up... That wasn't nice, Shizu-chan." he mocked.

"S-shut up… your fault."

Izaya only laughed.

…

They never did that again, at least not for a while. After the incident, Izaya stopped visiting him altogether, if only to give the blond some time to wrap his head about what has happened. Shizuo had to ask Kasuka to tell the raven not to be stupid and stop acting shy all of a sudden. Izaya complied, although upon unspoken agreement, they didn't talk about it again. For everyone else, they were just good friends.

It was a miracle how from hatred and hostility, these two turned not only to tolerating each other, but actually having fun together. Izaya still mocked, and Shizuo still threatened to kill him now and then. Izaya would tease him about his first steps and how wobbly they were, and Shizuo would try to hit him with his freshly-healed punch. When the blond left the hospital finally, the raven was there to pick him up; although he kept his distance from Shizuo's family, and was but a figure trotting beside the little group. And when the blond went back to school, he found there was no need for him to spend his breaks alone anymore, because Izaya was there.

Gradually, they became best friends. With the same power Shizuo's whole being roared to kill the raven, now it yearned for Izaya's proximity. They shared quiet laughs, and even secrets; these were particularly hard for Izaya to spill, but he knew they were guarded in the blond's heart. He knew Shizuo would never tell anyone when he bared his thoughts for him.

Shizuo still got pissed off and violent. He would hurt people he didn't want to hurt, and end up being curled up on some roof, not letting Izaya see his face, or even come closer. The raven never listened. And when Shizuo lashed out on him, he let him chase him and throw things at himself, until the blond was tired and civil once again. Izaya never got hurt. Shizuo trusted him on this; and Izaya in turn trusted the blond not to hurt him on purpose.

In turn, there were days when Izaya wouldn't show up for school. He would curl up in his dark apartment, in his room, feeling lonely and empty and cold, and loathing himself for making it like this. Shizuo always came after school on days like this, and closed his ears to Izaya's hurtful words. Izaya would eventually relax into the hug the blond closed him in. Shizuo would close his eyes and let the raven stay this way as long as he needed. He never said a word afterwards.

They graduated still the best of friends. Izaya started his career as an informant; and he was glad to have Shizuo by his side, because his friend did save his ass more than once in the process. As for the blond, after few part-time jobs turned fiasko, he found his own place as a bodyguard. The pay wasn't bad, and he enjoyed walking the streets.

They still met up almost everyday. Sometimes Izaya would visit Ikebukuro, sometimes Shizuo would buy some food and come visit the raven in his apartment in Shinjuku (Izaya's fridge was always empty, and it irked the blond to no ends). One day, with Izaya sprawled on the couch and Shizuo rummaging angrily through the cabinets in his kitchen in search of pasta, the blond called out, seemingly out of the blue.

"There's someone I like."

It wasn't a surprise for Izaya. During these few years, he had learnt Shizuo's tastes. He knew which women he liked to look at, and knew how shy he really was - how he was always afraid of hurting his loved ones. But to hear the blond say these words made Izaya's chest hurt with dull pain he was sure he left back then in that hospital. Except this time it wasn't guilt. It was something darker, thirstier, more hateful.

Jealousy.

"Oh, is that so? Who's the lucky lady?"

_I'm going to kill her. _

Shizuo straightened up with the pack of pasta in his hand.

"...you. Let's go out, Izaya."


End file.
